The Red Sox got swept in their two-game Baltimore series in a frustrating continuation of recent bullpen and offensive inconsistency. Boston came into the stretch reeling after a ninth-inning collapse in Miami, a game that saw Greg Weissert struggle in place of a rested high-leverage arm and Steven Matz unable to reverse the slide, and the issues followed them to Baltimore.
In the opener, Dustin May turned in another quality outing, lasting six innings and allowing two runs on eight hits, but the offense couldn’t consistently solve Baltimore’s pitching. In their game last night, Walker Buehler was decent, going four innings, giving up two runs. This one was razor close, eventually going to extra innings after the Red Sox rallied and tied it in the ninth. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough juice in the tank and lost in the 11th inning. This disappointing loss left Boston short and behind the Yankees in the wild-card picture.
With the stretch run approaching, these are the exact kinds of failures the Sox can’t afford. Better late-inning bullpen execution and a more reliable offensive approach will be necessary if Boston hopes to climb back into a secure postseason position. The club needs contributions from its depth pieces and steadier back-end work to halt the slide.
